1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a toner bottle for an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a toner bottle for an image forming apparatus which is capable of effectively supplying toner to the image forming apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Background
A background image forming apparatus that employs an electrophotographic method commonly applies toner as a dry ink to visualize an image in an image forming operation. Such an apparatus includes a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, and a multi-function system, for example. The multi-function system combines varieties of image forming related functions including at least two of printing, copying, and facsimile functions.
The background image forming apparatus initially stores a predetermined amount of toner in a toner container and supplies the toner to an image development mechanism which develops an image with the toner. That is, the amount of toner stored in the container is gradually reduced as the toner consumed at each time the image development mechanism performs an image development operation.
In this operation, the background image forming apparatus needs to supply toner from the toner container to the image development mechanism according to the amount required by the image development mechanism. If the toner is not appropriately supplied to the image development mechanism, an inferior image forming phenomena occurs such as a faint image or an uneven color, for example, due to uneven toner density.
When the toner is used up and the toner container becomes empty, the toner container needs to be exchanged, which is normally done by an operator. In exchanging the toner container, the toner is apt to scatter and fly around the area so that operator's hands and cloths may be soiled by the scattered toner. Therefore, the toner container needs to be designed so as to be exchanged as easily as possible by an operator.
Among a variety of toner containers which have been produced, a toner cartridge and a toner bottle are typical examples. The toner bottle, for example, typically has a cylindrical shape and is provided at its one end with an opening to output toner stored in the toner bottle. The opening usually has a diameter smaller than that of a main body of the toner bottle where the toner is stored. Such a toner bottle is usually placed horizontally in the image forming apparatus so that the toner is smoothly output to a mechanism, more particularly to an image development mechanism, requiring the toner.
One example of a background toner bottle is shown in cross section in FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a background toner bottle 90 includes a bottle body 91 and a cap 92. The bottle body 91 is cylindrically shaped. The cap 92 includes a cap part 93 and a holder part 94. The cap 92 is also cylindrical shaped and is configured to be non-rotatably stationed and to allow the bottle body 91 to rotate about the cap 92.
The cap part 93 is provided with a toner supply opening 95 at a bottom portion thereof. The holder part 94 is fixed with the cap part 93 and is configured to hold the cap part 93 to the bottle body 91. The bottle body 91 is configured to rotate about the cap part 93 latched with a hook part 96 formed at the holder part 94 to a dike formed on the bottle body 91.
The cap 92 further includes a seal material 97 arranged at a contact portion between the bottle body 91 and the cap part 93 to avoid leakage of the toner, and a pulling member 98 and a shutter 99 both arranged at the holder part 94. The cap 92 is engaged to the bottle body 91 by a connecting gear.
In the toner bottle, the toner must be able to move in a horizontal direction towards the opening and to be output from the opening to the image forming mechanism. However, an appropriate conveyance and output of the toner may not be achieved without the help of a mechanical device for moving the toner. If the toner bottle is not provided with any such mechanical device, an amount of toner output from the toner bottle may vary, particularly when the toner in the toner bottle is reduced to a relatively small amount. This makes the toner supply system unreliable.
Also, another problem may occasionally be caused when the toner bottle is not provided with an adequate mechanical device, in which a relatively great amount of toner is found remaining in the toner bottle after the toner bottle is exchanged.
Moreover, since the toner has a tendency to gather into clumps in addition to its low liquidity, a risk of obstructing a moving path for the toner with the toner clumps is relatively high if no adequate mechanical device for appropriately moving the toner is present.